Cor Series: Define Daddy
by Dimira Marka
Summary: Part four of the Cor Series. After almost six months and a lot of changes, Quicksilver and Prof. X call on the Cors.


_Define Daddy_© July 2000 by Dimira Marka   
The X-Men characters, and all other recognizable characters are copyright to Marvel Entertainment Group. This work of FanFiction is not meant to infringe on that copyright or defame Marvel Comics or the X-Men and related characters in any way. This work of FanFiction and the original characters described within are the intellectual property of Dimira Marka. No copying, distributing or editing of this material is permitted without the express permission of the creator, Dimira Marka, under United States copyright law.

Define Daddy  
Forth installment in the Cor Series  
By Dimira Marka [peffalo@yahoo.com]

--

_"Mattie convinced me to start writing in this journal that Henri got me for my birthday last week (I'm 29 now; its been two years since I joined the X-Men.) This is the first entry I've ever made in a journal in my life, and I'm not sure if I am doing it right. Mattie told me to put down what I feel and do, and what has happened to me. So I'll do that.  
  
"I feel like I am being watched where ever I go. There's someone spying on me, watching me, stalking me (and possibly Remy and Marcus, too). Someone that wants information on something, and I want to know who.   
  
"I feel betrayed by my friends. It's been five months and six days since we found Eva's body frozen to the side of that mountain in the Catskills. Neither Hank, nor Moira nor Charles could find any physical reason for what happened to her. Though they say it, they think it was suicide. They think she just lied down on the side of that mountain and let Mother Nature do the dirty work They all think she is dead and are convinced of it I know better.   
  
"What's happened recently is one of the biggest changes in my life, sans my aunt Mia's death. Of course as I said before, we found my sister Eva on the side of a mountain supposedly dead. Marcus, my brother, has moved into a house in Baton Rouge with his wife, Addy. They are talking about finally starting a family. I've moved back to New Orleans with Remy to Jean-Luc's. We all quit the team unanimously when Eva died. But besides Eva's death, something else big has also happened to our happy little 'family'.  
  
"Professor X, Cyclops, Rogue, Quicksilver (my half brother by my biological father), Jean Grey, and Wolverine went to Avalon for one last fight with Magneto (my biological father) to try and end his stupid cause and terrorism of the human race. (I don't call him my birth father because he wasn't there for my birth.) To make the long story short, it all ended with Wolverine half dead and Magneto a vegetable. Charles wiped his mind clean. While I'm happy he did, I hate him for it. Magneto was the only link Marcus, Eva, and I had to our mother.  
  
"But now, after this phone call from Pietro, everything changes"  
_  
Stephanie Cor set down her pen on the desk she sat at. She closed the small leather-bound journal and shoved it into the suitcase on her bed behind her.   
  
The room was small, but it was not the same sort of small it had been when she was there as a child. It was small packed with stuff small. It was not 'small because you have to share it with your sister small.' There were boxes of things stacked all through the room--Eva's old things.  
  
Stephanie shuddered at the thought of the things that her half brother had told her over the phone the day before. It couldn't be happening, I couldn't.   
  
Her thoughts were interrupted, however, by a rapping at the door. She jumped, startled. "Stephie? Ya in there, girl?" Remy's voice called through the door with a hint of playfulness in his voice.  
  
"Y-yeah, 'course I am, Remy. Come in," she said. Remy opened the door. Stephanie stood up and smoothed her hair down a bit. Remy saw her discomfort.  
  
"Are you ready to go to the airport? Marcus' waitin' downstairs," Remy said. He saw Stephanie had been crying. "Y' okay?"  
  
"I'm fine," Stephanie said quickly, picking up her worn suitcase. "Now, let's not keep Mark waitin', eh?" letting a bit of her Canadian influence come through. She pushed past Remy and headed for the door. He followed her, shutting the door behind him.

--

Ororo looked out the window of the library to see a dirty yellow taxi pulling into the driveway of the Professor Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters. She smiled at the sight and at the thought of seeing the two again. She walked out of the overstuffed library, into the hall, and then to the front door. She was outside by the time the taxi was pulling away. She approached them with a large smile on her face.  
  
"Remy," she nodded to him. "Stephanie, Marcus It is good to see you all looking well," she said with a smile, putting her hand on Marcus' shoulder.   
  
"I wouldn't go as far as ta say that, 'Ro," Stephanie said, shifting the bag on her shoulder.  
  
Ororo ignored Stephanie's negativity. "I did not expect to see you here, Remy," she stated.  
  
"Pietro said it was a family affair, 'Roro an' Remy's family," Stephanie stuck up for her adoptive brother.  
  
Ororo nodded. "Your accent gets thicker every time that I see you," she said, turning to Stephanie. "Now, why do not we go inside? The professor wishes to speak with you."  
  
The four walked together through the stuffy hallways. They spoke little on their short walk. They stopped briefly to drop their bags in their rooms in the guest wing. Ororo then lead them to the Danger Room control room.  
  
Sitting at the controls was Professor X and next to him was Hank McCoy. Pietro stood next to them, looking at the computer screen over Hank's shoulder.  
  
"Ah, Stephanie, dearest damsel!" Hank did a back flip and landed directly in front of her. "It has been too long." He took her hand and kissed it.  
  
Stephanie tried to repress giggling. "You're such a flirt Its nice ta see ya too, Hank." She patted his shoulder.  
  
Pietro turned to them. "It's been too long," he said. It had been a long time; he hadn't seen them since Eva's funeral seven months ago. He walked over and hugged Stephanie.  
  
"How've ya been, Pietro?" Stephanie asked.  
  
"I've been fine."  
  
"An' Crystal and Luna?"  
  
He sighed, put off by the mention of Crystal. "They're fine."  
  
"Hank," Charles prompted, "would you excuse us?"  
  
"Oh, certainly." He went back to the console, picked up a file folder marked 'Joseph' and turned for the door. "Its good to see you all again," he said as he left, bowing. The door slid shut behind him.  
  
"You all look well," Charles said, examining Marcus and Stephanie. His eyes fell upon Remy. "I did not expect you here, Gambit." His voice held traces of scorn.  
  
"He's family," Marcus said simply. "Now, on ta th' more important matter, why'd y' call us here?"  
  
Pietro, Charles, and Ororo looked over at Stephanie. "You did not tell them?" Ororo asked. Marcus looked at his sister angrily-she'd lied, she had known why they were called back.  
  
"I-I couldn't. This isn't somthin' y' just come out an' say when ya aren't sure what ya heard in the first place." She rubbed the back of her neck nervously.  
  
"Ah, yes, well" Charles was interrupted by a sudden huge boom from the Danger Room. It made every occupant of the room jump, save Ororo and Charles.  
  
"*What* was that?" Remy questioned.   
  
Charles motioned to the observation window. Stephanie was the first to see into it and to the Danger Room. When she saw inside she let out cry and stumbled back a few feet. Remy caught her. "Stephie, what?"  
  
"I-I " she stuttered. "Charles, y' weren't jokin'" she let out the words in a whine, looking at him. He nodded at her solemnly and folded his hands in his lap.  
  
Marcus pushed past his sister and looked in the Danger Room. His eyes got wide. "Why is there a hologram of me in there?" he demanded.  
  
"As much as I hate to be the bearer of bad news, Mr. Cor, that is no hologram," Charles said. "That is a person."  
  
Marcus looked at him with pure skepticism. "A person? What are you talking about?"  
  
"A person, Marcus, a human--or mutant, I should say. Rogue found him, or should I say he found Rogue. He seems to have amnesia. He claims his name is Joseph and that a nun in South America told him to come here because he is a mutant. He is unarguably very much like yourself and your sister. His powers, though, are more intense and heightened past your abilities. He's. . . remarkable," Charles said.  
  
"You have got to be joking me," Marcus said. "Okay, yeah, funny birthday gag, but its a few days late." He looked around the room for Wolverine or Nightcrawler of Jubilee to jump out. No one did. "He saw the look on Charles. "You *have* to be joking! There's no way!"  
  
"You don't know how much I wish I were," Charles said.   
  
"He is telling the truth," Pietro confirmed. "I've spoken with him"  
  
Stephanie wrapped her arms around herself. "I can't believe you were tellin' the truth over th' phone. I didn't think it was possible. I guess I was in denial," she said. She walked over to the viewing window again and looked back into the Danger Room.   
  
Remy stood next to her, watching as well. "He does look like you, Mark."  
  
The white-haired man was flying around the room, blasting sentinels and dodging bullets. "He doesn't look quite like you, per say. He looks like a hodgepodge o' Magneto, Pietro and you," she said, looking at him solemnly.  
  
"A son from the future? Something made out of you an' Magneto an' Quicksilver?" Remy hazarded.  
  
"Why are we suddenly turning into the Summers family?" Pietro muttered under his breath.  
  
"I¾I don' wanna know" Stephanie said, shaking her head, as a sort of reply to his question and to state her own position. "Ignorance is bliss. Denial is sweet. The last thing I need 'er want is another thing t' worry over."  
  
"You can not deny the man his past and family just so that you are happy, Stephanie. It is not right," Ororo said, looking critically at her.  
  
"If you'd gone through every little goddamn thing I have, Ororo, you'd understand perfectly why the only thing I want is ta go home. I don't know why I came up here in the first place." Pietro looked at her skeptically.  
  
"After all I suffered at his hands, I came," Pietro stated.  
  
"Whose hands? Magneto's? Howdaya even know that's 'im in there? I'm not talkin' about him, anyway. He has nothin' ta do with what I'm talkin' about, I'm talking about what has happened since I became an X-Man."  
  
Charles looked at her. "He needs to know who he is--what he is--Stephanie, that is why you came."  
  
"Don't you ever tell me how I think an' act," she growled at him. "An', yeah, he does need t' know; *I* don't."  
  
"How can y' be so cruel, Stephanie?" Remy demanded.  
  
"I guess losin' that part of my soul when Eva 'died' took away my compassion," she concluded. Sarcasm was evident in her voice and it hung thick in the air.  
  
"You still believe so blindly she is alive?" Charles asked.  
  
"I don't believe she's alive, I *know* she is."  
  
"We found her dea--" Pietro began.  
  
"This is all beside the point!" Marcus boomed suddenly. "There is a dead on look alike o' me flying around in there," he pointed to the danger room, "that is not a hologram, an' I wanna know who in the hell he is! Clone, de-aged Magneto, son of Magneto, son of mine--son of any of us three--alternate time line someone I wanna know what!"  
  
"Then ya can go an' find out yerself, Marcus Benjamin Cor, 'cause I'll have no part in it," Stephanie began to walk toward the door.  
  
"Don't do this, Stephanie," Pietro appealed to her. "We need you here to help us with him."  
  
"Stephanie, he's family!" Marcus called after her. "What if that man in there is your son?"  
  
Stephanie turned around. "Marcus," she growled sharply.  
  
"What if he's your son from the future that you haven't seen since he was"   
  
"Shut up!" she hissed.  
  
"Born? The son you gave up to"  
  
"SHUT UP!"  
  
"Keep him safe from Sinister! What if that's him in there, brought here from the future for one reason or another? Can you turn your back on him and that possibility?" He crossed his arms. Ororo looked at Marcus with anger that he dared to use Stephanie's child to manipulate her. Charles and Pietro stood confused.   
  
Stephanie pulled her lips in a stiff line and hardened her face. "You are the most manipulative, conniving, idiotic jerk on the planet," Stephanie hissed. "An' ya can play me like a harp." She sighed, and wiped a tear from her eye that was trying to make an escape. "I'll help," she whispered.

--

"Are ya sure this'll be wise, Prof.?" Stephanie asked. Charles nodded. She turned her gaze back to the door in front of her. She knocked on the door gently.   
  
From inside they heard a voice, "Yes?"   
  
"Joseph, its Professor X. I have a friend here I would like you too meet." Stephanie twisted the folder in her hands tightly. The door opened.  
  
She couldn't help but stare at the man and see just how much he looked like Magneto. His jaw and nose and eyes were all so close to Magneto's. Her eyes were glued to his face.  
  
"Joseph, I'd like you to meet Alice, an old friend of mine," Charles said, motioning to Stephanie.  
  
Joseph held his hand out. Stephanie shook it firmly. "It is nice to meet you, Mr. Joseph," she said, suppressing her accent. It was a technique she had spent years perfecting.  
  
"Likewise," Joseph said and nodded.  
  
"Come," Charles said. "We'll go to the library."  
  
"Yes, that will be good," Stephanie said.  
  
The three walked the halls toward the library. Stephanie found herself absolutely mesmerized with the man.  
  
"Alice has some questions she would like to ask you. Correct, Alice?"  
  
"Oh" Stephanie looked over at Charles. "Yes, that is correct."  
  
#Stephanie, try not to stare at the poor man too much.# Charles scolded.  
  
#I'm sorry, Charles, I can't help it.# Stephanie replied. #I'm positive ya stared at him quite a bit when ya first saw him.# Charles had no reply.  
  
They came into the library. Rogue was sitting and fiddling around with some books. She saw Stephan she let out a gasp  
  
"St--?"  
  
"Alice. Rogue, I'm *Alice*. We have met before, I believe," Stephanie said quickly.  
  
"Oh¾yes, we have," Rogue said. She stood up. "Ah'm supposing ya'll want me to leave."  
  
"If ya--you would," Stephanie said, her accent slipping out. Rogue stood up. As she walked past Joseph she winked and flashed a smile his way. Stephanie made a disgusted face at this that no one else saw. Rogue shut the door behind herself.  
  
"Shall we sit?" Charles asked. Stephanie nodded and sat down on the couch.   
  
"Come, sit next to me Joseph," Stephanie said. Joseph nodded and sat down on the couch next to her. "I have some pictures that I would like you to look at. I want you to tell me if you recognize any of the people in them."  
  
"Are you some sort of doctor?" Joseph asked.  
  
"Alice is a psychologist," Charles said. "She may be able to better diagnose your amnesia better than I." Joseph raised an eyebrow in disbelief, and then turned to the coffee table in front of them that was now covered with old pictures.  
  
"Do you recognize any of these pictures?" Stephanie asked.  
  
"This makes no sense" he mumbled.  
  
"Whatever do you mean?" Charles asked.  
  
"You must think I am a specific person, otherwise you wouldn't have these pictures here." He looked up at Stephanie and then to the professor. "Just who do you think I am?" he demanded.  
  
"We can not tell you, or it may impair the process." Stephanie put her hand on his shoulder. "Just, please, look at the pictures."  
  
Joseph hesitantly nodded and did as the woman instructed him. There were five pictures on the coffee table before him.   
  
The one that stuck out him first was the picture of the three young children all bruised and beaten. There were two girls and one boy; they looked about twelve. The picture was old, faded, and discolored, but he could tell that they had blonde hair with white streaks throughout. They looked absolutely heart broken.  
  
There was one of a young man with white hair with two pieces on each side swept up; with him was a young woman of about the same age with long curly red hair. They looked a little, if at all, related. He'd seen the man before, in the hallway of the school. He had spoken to him briefly.  
  
There was one of a woman with long curly hair. He couldn't tell the hair color because the picture was black & white. She seemed like the woman in the previous picture, all though she was slightly different. They could be mistaken for sisters, or mother and daughter.  
  
There was one of a man in an odd helmet, more like a bucket. While you could not see his face clearly, it was obvious he was angry--very angry. The grimace on his face made Joseph swallow hard. The man seemed to have raw energy all around his body.  
  
The last picture was another woman. She was not young, but not old either. Though the picture was black and white, you could see her blonde hair and pale ivory skin dotted with light brown freckles. She was perched on a split rail fence and looking, smiling over her shoulder.  
  
Joseph shook his head. "I'm sorry, none of these are familiar." Stephanie looked up disappointed at Charles, but also with an air of relief. "Just that man there," he pointed to the picture with Pietro in it, "I spoke with him in the hall today."  
  
#Wha'd I tell ya?# she said telepathically to Charles.  
  
#Don't be so quick to conclusions, Alice. We still have one more test to run.# He looked over at her. She sighed and nodded.  
  
"Very well then, Joseph. I am going to throw some words at you, and I want you to tell me if they have any personal meanings to you, okay?"   
  
Joseph hesitated, and then nodded. "Okay."   
  
Stephanie took in a deep breath. "Nazi." Joseph shook his head, though he seemed put off by the word. He shifted uneasily so that he was closer to the edge of the sofa as if ready to take to running at any minute. "Gypsy." Joseph shook his head. "Magda." Joseph shook his head. "Anya." Joseph shook his head, though again he seemed put off by the name. "All right, one last one Eva," she barely choked out without bursting out in tears.  
  
Joseph shook his head one last time. "I--I'm sorry, Ms. Alice, but I don't recognize any of those words deeper than their dictionary definitions."  
  
#Charles, when I said Nazi an' Anya he--# Stephanie began.  
  
#I know, Force.# He looked over at her reassuringly.  
  
"Well," Stephanie said, standing up, scooping up the pictures and putting them in the folder, "thank you very much, Mr. Joseph, for your time. I will be off now." She headed for the door.  
  
"Wait!" Joseph called after her. "Who do you think I am? Tell me!"  
  
"My most sincere apologizes, Joseph, but I can not tell you that," Stephanie said, walking from the room. Before Joseph could peruse her, she had slammed the door shut.  
  
"Do not worry about her, Joseph, she wouldn't be of any help to you, anyhow," Charles said.  
  
"*None* of you will be 'of any help anyhow'! You are all hiding things from me. You, Rogue, Sister Maria, this 'Alice' person None of you will be straight with me," he growled, looking angrily at Charles. He turned and stormed out the door.

--

"I know what I saw in his eyes," Stephanie said, taking a drag off of her cigarette. "An'--"  
  
"Don't smoke, Steph, it's not like you," Marcus interrupted.  
  
"I'll smoke, if I damn well please, Marcus Cor," she corrected him. "I'm not who I used ta be."  
  
"But dat doesn't mean y' have t' take up such a nasty habit," Remy said.  
  
"I don't see either of you quitting," she hissed at Remy and Marcus.   
  
"Stop it," Pietro commanded his younger siblings.  
  
"As I was sayin', I saw th' look in his eyes when I said Nazi and Anya. As much as I hate ta say it, I think he's Magneto..."  
  
"She is correct in assuming that Joseph is Magneto," Charles said. Stephanie gave a contemptuous smile to Marcus and took another drag on her cigarette.  
  
"You can't be serious? How do you come up with Magneto and not someone 'er something else?" Marcus probed, shooting a dirty look Stephanie's way. She returned the look.  
  
Charles cleared his throat, "If you two would be kind enough to stop the childish bickering for the time, I can explain." The two nodded. "Good, now, Joseph reacted very strongly to the name Anya, that of his deceased daughter, and to Nazi. We all know what he suffered at their hands. He was de-aged once several years ago, it is possible he could have gone through another de-aging."  
  
"That would be the only explanation" Marcus began.  
  
"No, it wouldn't. For all we know he could be a clone of you," Pietro looked at Marcus. "I know how much Sinister loves playing games with all of you--" Marcus glared at him.  
  
Stephanie smashed her cigarette on the tabletop as she stood up. "Well, I don't know or care. I didn't care in th' first place. This place killed mah sister. I've gotta life now an' its not my problem what happens ta this Joseph character. Ya'll can do what ya want with him." She began to head for the door.  
  
"Its not fair to say this place killed Eva--" Charles began.  
  
"Y' can't turn your back on him, Stephie, he's family!" Marcus yelled after her, standing up.  
  
"What in the hell is wrong with you, Stephanie? He deserves a second chance if he is our father, and if he is some clone that makes him family as well and--" Pietro said.  
  
"Ya don't know that he is, an' I've got no interest if he is *or* isn't." She said, "My life's just peachy right now without 'im." She stormed out of the door. Pietro groaned and began to pace.  
  
"She's been like dat ever since Evie died," Remy said, looking at Charles.   
  
Marcus sunk into his chair and put his head in his hands. "I'm worried 'bout her, she's not like she used t' be," he said.   
  
"Its most likely in response to Eva's death," Charles said. "Eva was her maternal twin, they were identical, and had a deep emotional bond. Surely the loss of that bond has left her feeling lonely and--"  
  
"I know, Prof., y' don't have to explain it t' me, I lost the bond that we had, too. You forget she was my twin, too?" Marcus said. He composed himself. "I should go after her." He stood up and walked out of the room before the two men could tell him otherwise. Remy and Pietro were left alone with Charles.  
  
"I am worried about those two," Charles said. "Just after Eva came back from Avalon, and just before we found her, I talked to and promised Magneto I would watch after them," he looked up to Pietro, "All of them." He looked at the cocky young man to let him know he meant him as well. "I haven't done that. He does love you five--you *are* his children."  
  
"If he loved us, then why are we burdens to him when we want to be with him, and estranged, thoughtless children when he wants *us* around? That's not love, from what *my* father, Djano Maximoff, taught me," Pietro hissed. He turned and left the room.  
  
"Dey're too proud to let anyone protect dem like y' would have," Remy said, breaking the awkward silence. "'Sides, it wouldn't've been easy t' do even if dey'd let you, you've got no idea th' stuff dey get demselves dug into." He chuckled. "An' as much as my gut's tellin' me t' follow those two, I'm not gonna, 'cause dere's not a whole lot I can do, whether 'er not I am dere brother, dis's somet'in' dey need t' do on dere own."  
  
"Yes, that would be wise, Gambit," Charles said.

--

The streets of New York were very different from those of New Orleans. Marcus had been in New York once, but at that point in time, he was a lost, starving young boy with his two little sisters in tow.  
  
He stalked the streets alone, not really doing as he had said he was going to, look for his sister. She was, more or less, not in an enough of a stable mental state to be wondering the streets.  
  
The allies reeked of waste and garbage, and when he passed one, could not help but gag. The sidewalks were littered with hookers and pimps. They hollered at him 'for a good time', and as the depression and stress began to get the best of him, he thought about taking them up on their offers. But, when he saw the wedding ring on his finger, he was brought back to earth and grounded. He couldn't even think of hurting Addy like that.  
  
He passed a small appliance store window at which half a dozen or so people were gathered. Marcus glanced to see what they were looking at but didn't really care. He began to walk away. Then he heard someone mumble, "Damn muties." His attention was quickly grabbed.  
  
He peered over the heads to see what the people were looking at. On the screen of one of the TVs was a picture the chilled him.  
  
It was a young woman, a mutant, no doubt, tearing apart a building that read "Greenwich Bio-Genetics." He could tell the instant he saw here that it was Stephanie, there was no ifs, ands, or buts about it. In the corner of the screen it said 'live coverage'.  
  
"Where is that?!" he cried.  
  
"5th and Union, buddy," answered a man. The man turned to see the questioner, but he was gone when he did.  
  
As Marcus flew toward the scene, he searched his pockets for a communicator so that he could try and call his teammates. He found none. Oh, well, they'll see it on the news 'er Cerebro'll tell 'em, he thought.   
  
He came upon the scene as Stephanie was flying away. But, once he was within clear sight distance of her, he could tell he was gravely mistaken on whom he saw. Stephanie had hair that was barely to her shoulders. This woman's hair was to her ankles.  
  
"Eva!" he bellowed at the top of his lungs. The woman turned around startled, her eyes were wild.  
  
"You," she breathed the words through her teeth. "How did you find me!?"  
  
"E-Eva How? How can you be alive?" Marcus stuttered. He held his hands out, trying to signal to her to give him her hands.  
  
Eva smiled deviously. "A friend saved me from the mountain, from the pain and emotional torture of my sick little excuse for a life. He's given me a new life--a better one!" She lifted up her hands. "My powers are more then I could have ever had at the hands of the balding fool! They're more than you can imagine!"  
  
Marcus looked at the sickly, demented look on her face. "Who?" was all he could manage to choke out.  
  
"Sinister," she said deeply. She uttered the words as though she was saying the name of a god in reverence to that god at his feet. Marcus' eyes grew wide at what she said. He couldn't speak or breathe. Meanwhile, the Blackbird was approaching from behind Marcus. Eva smiled at the opportunity before her.  
  
"S-S-Sinister?" he gasped.  
  
"Yes, dear brother of mine, and now that you know" she touched her hand to her belt. The Blackbird was right upon them now. " You can't be allowed to go on as you do."   
  
As Storm, Rogue, Joseph, and Jean Grey flew out of the blackbird, there was a huge explosion from the area where Marcus and Eva were. From the door of the black bird, Remy and Pietro watched as the fire seemed, from their point of view, to consume the two. 

--

Stephanie lathered up her hands with shampoo and massaged it into her scalp, then she let the day's worries wash away with the hotel's complimentary soap.   
  
She'd been in the shower for a good twenty minutes when she heard a sound within the room. She poked her head out to look, and before she could react, felt something metal catch her neck. She then let out a cry as a hand on her shoulder yanked her out of the shower and on her back onto the bathroom floor. She mumbled and then looked up when she heard a voice.  
  
"I've got a power suppresser collar on ye and a 35mm handgun pointed at your head. You'd better tell me what I bloody want to hear," Lucas said, standing over her, a gun aimed at her forehead.  
  
"Heh, it's nice ta see you too, Lucas. When was the last time y' had me wet an' on mah back?" she chuckled. "If ya wanted sex ya coulda just asked," she finished jokingly. He didn't say anything. "Well, out wit' it, Lou! I wanna get back ta mah shower sometime!"  
  
"You're gonna tell me what I bloody want to hear," Lucas commanded.   
  
Stephanie smiled lightly. "I suppose I've got few options."  
  
"Where's my son," he demanded bluntly.  
  
Stephanie began to laugh loudly. "Why in th' name a God would I tell ya something like that? So y' can go an' turn him inta a tool?" She began to sit up. Lucas put his foot down on her shoulder so she was pinned to the floor. She narrowed her eyes at him and crossed her arms.  
  
"This, Steph, 'love', is non-negotiable. You tell me where my son is, and I don't shoot you through the head." She saw the determination on his face.  
  
"How long have you been followin' me?" she asked, thinking, *knowing* that it must have been him perusing her and her brother.  
  
"Since about the time you pulled that job in Baton Rouge," Lucas said. "Why?"  
  
"I figured as much. I knew I was being watched."  
  
"Yeah, well, life's a bitch. Now, tell me, where is he? If ye don't tell me, I'll shoot you, so 'elp me God," he said.  
  
"Ya realize, of course, I'm the only one on th' face of th' planet that knows where the boy is. If you kill me then you'll never see him. Ever. Are ya willin' ta risk it?"  
  
"You lie."  
  
"Like I said, are ya willin' ta risk it?" Lucas narrowed his eyes silently. "I thought not. Now, riddle me this, 'mon amour': do ya love our son?"  
  
"What kind of games are--"   
  
"Just answer."  
  
"Yes, of course I do."  
  
"Ya love him an' ya want him safe?"  
  
"Yes, I do. I wouldn't be here if I didn't!"  
  
"Okay, if ya love him an' want him safe so much, then why da ya want to go an' see him? If you--or me for that matter--go anywhere near him, Mr. Sinister will find him, take him, alter his DNA, his physiology, an' turn him into a living killing machine and in turn, have him destroy us, our friends, an', for all we know, th' world."   
  
Lucas lifted his foot a bit off her shoulder. "And, if our luck is th' same as it was when I got pregnant with th' boy, he'll fall into the hands of Apocalypse and be doomed ta a life a servin' him. Da ya want that for your only child?" she asked him.  
  
"Bloody marvelous" Lucas hissed under his breath. He stood for a moment. He lowered the gun and then lifted his foot totally off her shoulder. He reached back with is free hand and snagged a towel off the rack. He tossed it onto her then left the bathroom and walked into the main part of the hotel room. He searched his pockets for a cigarette as he went, mumbling, "God, I need a fag"  
  
Stephanie pulled herself up and wrapped the towel around her. She walked into the room where Lucas stood looking at the large mirror on the wall. She placed her hand on his shoulder. "Lucas I'm sorry about this. I--"  
  
Lucas turned around and put his hands on Stephanie's shoulders. He looked at her for a moment and then kissed her lips softly. She stared shocked looking at him, her eyes wide. She looked at him with utter confusion in her eyes. "You are still the beautiful, strong, kind woman I fell in love with, Stephanie Cor," he whispered to her.  
  
"And you are not the same generous, hard working, romantic I fell in love with, Lucas Whitteker. You're a unscrupulous, lying, murdering man with few morals to speak of," she whispered to him.  
  
Lucas jerked his head back and looked at Stephanie. There was an intense look of defiance in her eyes. She'd meant to make him mad! His eyes grew wide. "Ye dirty little git!" he yelled at her. He lifted his arm up and backhanded her hard across the cheek.  
  
"No!" she shrieked as his hand came down. Once his hand hit her face she fell half-unconscious to the floor. She pleaded, "No, no, no, no, Mia, don't hurt me please!" Lucas looked at her, realizing what he'd done. He'd hit her just the way that her aunt had when she was a child, and dredged up all those awful memories. It scared him nearly as much as it did her. He quickly took the collar off her neck and ran out of the hotel and down the street.  
  
Hours later--as she had learned as a young girl--Stephanie slathered another glob of makeup on her bruised cheek. She'd never dreamed that Lucas would hit her that hard. He'd hit her before, but never like that. But, she thought, "I asked for it." After she had the bruise as covered up as good as it would get, she greased her hair down with gel and did the rest of her makeup.  
  
Suddenly, un-prompted, as she was packing her things up, there was a knock at the door. She looked up at the door uneasily, and walked slowly to it. She peered through the peephole and saw Remy and Pietro on the other side of the door. She jerked the door open quickly.  
  
"Pietro? Rem'? How'd ya find me? Whatta ya doin' here?" she asked.   
  
When she looked at him he had a sorry, sad, crushed look to him that made Stephanie's heart skip a beat as it had when Lucas had hit her. "Its Mark an' Evie, dey" he choked. Ororo was walking up the door from the car. Remy began to cry.   
  
"Oh, Remy," Stephanie pulled him into her arms. "Its okay, tell me what happened." She remained calm although she thought that her heart was going leap out of her chest. Pietro let out a sigh of dread.  
  
"I will, sadly, explain all," Ororo said. Stephanie looked uneasily at Ororo¾they had never been easy friends¾and turned into the hotel room, leading Remy with her.

--

_"And so now I am alone. Marcus and Eva are gone and I don't have the slightest clue if I'll ever see them again. I know they're alive. If they weren't I'd be able to tell. If they were indeed gone I would feel a different kind of empty from what I feel now.  
  
"I can hear Addy in the other room with Mattie. She's wailing into Mattie's shoulder like a banshee. She's lost a lot, too. She's lost Marcus twice now. Their marriage was arranged by the guilds at their convenience, but they still love each other.   
  
"When I told Henri and Tante Mattie, I don't think I've ever seen sorrier faces. Mattie's heart's been broken; she and Henri cried and cried. Then Jean-Luc came in and wanted to know what was going on. Remy took him into his study and left a few moments later. Then I heard a loud smash. When I went into Popa's study, he was sitting on the couch shell-shocked and his desk lamp and clock were smashed on the floor. For all he knows he has lost two of his children in the past year. They aren't dead, I'm sure of it!  
  
"But I've searched all of New York, Salem Center, and New Orleans; every bar, roadhouse, abandoned building I've found nothing. Professor X has searched the planet (to the best of his abilities) telepathically. It hasn't been enough. We've found nothing physical.  
  
"Professor X thinks I'm 'troubled' and that I 'need help'. He thinks that the bond I lost with Eva and Marcus has driven me over the edge. I didn't loose any bond. It's still there. I don't need the kind of help he is thinking of. I only need help finding my brother and sister. But the X-Men won't help me. They think that they're dead. And they're preoccupied with that Joseph man.   
  
"And on the subject of Joseph: I don't like him. He's not all he seems to be and I just know that he's going to be trouble. I think he's Magneto. Although, I've gone through all the possibilities I can think of and that, along with him being a clone of Marcus, is the most plausible.  
  
"But still in the back of my mind I wonder if he is my son. He could be some sort of Cable. Jean explained to me the whole story behind him and the rest of the Summers family that is known. Who knows, at the rate in which the Lensherr-Cor-Maximoff family is going, we may just rival the Summers very soon."  
  
_Stephanie set her pen down for a moment and looked out the window of the small parlor she sat alone in. It was sprinkling rain. She took the pen back up.  
  
_"It's late out now."  
_  
She scribbled the writing out. "What in the hell do I think I'm writin'?" she asked herself and laid her head on the back of the chair. She then turned back to the journal and began to flip through it, reading the few previous entries. After she'd finished that she turned back to the place she'd left off and began to write again.  
  
_"You, you stupid journal, all my deepest thoughts are in you. I've gone back through all of the previous entries spanning a whole of three days, and they are nothing but a record of my pain, something I've wanted to forget for so long. I want nothing to do with you any longer."  
_  
Stephanie shut the leather bound journal and stared at the black cover. It was accented with full name pressed into it: 'Stephanie Elizabeth Cor'. Not only that, but it had gold leaf pressed into it so make it visible. Henri had to have spent of fortune on it. She ran her fingers over it fondly. Then, with a careless ease, cast it into the smoldering ashes of the fireplace. The fire consumed it slowly at first, but then began to roar somewhat with the added fuel. Then she stood up and headed for her room to sleep.

The End. . . 


End file.
